


Bang Bang Reprise

by Oparu



Category: The Brothers Bloom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-23
Updated: 2009-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-05 02:07:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oparu/pseuds/Oparu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bang Bang returns to Bloom with a quick and simple con.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bang Bang Reprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dolevalan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dolevalan/gifts).



It began, as most things in Bloom's life, with a girl. Not the member of the fairer sex he would have expected, having changed his life to live one of blissful romantic contentment with the woman of his dreams, but another dame who's path explosively crossed with his.

Oddly enough, as he stood on the top of Mount Katamaringa, explosives were a necessary part of the illusion. It was incredible, Bloom had to admit as the mountain exploded around him. It did seem like the ancient fire goddess, Pueleaakemennamana had come back from the god realm to wreak her vengeance. He'd had that moment occasionally, travelling the world with his brother. It was that moment of heart-wrenching clarity where the sad reality of the con crept in and remind him that the fantastic was manufactured and that magic, was really just sleight of hand.

That again remembered, the fire and brimstone explosion around him of godlike fury lost it's charm. He turned to Penelope, feeling her grab his hand. Her eyes were shining with a light he couldn't feel in his own. Not being able to share her wonder made his heart ache, even as he felt that very organ soar because she had not yet been jaded. She was still free from seeing all the strings that moved the world. He had yet to take that from her, and that, that was worth a little bit of suffering on his part.

Penelope spoke but her soft voice was swallowed in the cacophony of falling ash and blooming flame. Maybe that was for the best. Many of the words that could have been in that unheard statement may have been nails in the coffin choking Bloom's heart or she could have been asking about tea.   


* * *

  
Getting back to the girl, she was the one who had always been Stephen's, and though Bloom had spent time with her, Bang Bang was never someone he'd really understood. He was all right with that, a certain amount of eccentricity was one of the spices of life. Things in the far east were certainly spicy, and had been since he'd arrived.

Roughly four days past, Bang Bang had turned up at breakfast. As she ate Penelope's croissant and explained her situation, Bloom had almost expected Stephen to appear next to her, laughing and refusing to say where he'd been since his alleged death. Of course, his brother didn't appear, and in the time Bloom had wasted wondering about him, Penelope had agreed.

"That's a lovely idea," she said, peering at the unrolled parchment. "Of course we can't allow those people to take this lovely island from the people who live there. Can we?" Penelope's lovely eyes fixed upon him and Bloom heard himself agree.

She was right, of course, taking the tiny island of Gorantugupta and turning it into a resort for the rich and ultra rich wasn't fair to anyone, except perhaps the rich, who already had it quite fair enough. Bloom, then was involved. As accustomed he was to follow Stephen's plans, and lately the more esoteric plans of Penelope, following Bang Bang's was easy enough.   


* * *

First, they needed a fire dancer. Not every plan started this way, but, in this case, as fire was to play a very large part, it was the ideal place to begin. Bloom had been about to call an old contact, see if there was any chance of bringing her to the South Pacific, when he heard the telltale sound of something swinging through the air.

His mind first went to a plane, or an arrow. As he turned, he noticed instead, it was a scarf. The end tied around a rock, the scarf flew through the air around Penelope in an elegant circle. She whipped it into a figure eight, then noticed his eyes on her. It usually took her awhile to notice him, and he'd been trying to improve his patience. In this case, when she pulled another scarf from her pocket and went about tying in another rock, he realised that she was apparently skilled in the very art they'd been seeking.

"Wasn't sure if I remembered," she said lightly, continuing to twirl her scarves in elegant patterns with her arms. As they flew around her, he was reminded of the ancient spinning toy with the bird and the cage. Was he again becoming the caged bird? Trapped in a web of lies and cons while it appeared he was free?

Bloom's contemplation ended when Bang Bang appeared beside him, fire and alcohol soaked rags in hand to try Penelope's trick with a real element of danger.   


* * *

The second part, pyrotechnics, were out of Bloom's purvey, and he was content to leave them in Bang Bang's capable hands. Her explanations, though brief, insisted that that particular part of the event, was neatly within her control.  


* * *

The last factor, was Bloom himself. Normally, he would have left the fast talking part to Stephen, who would have played it with his normal aplomb. Being that now, this was not an option, Bloom's choice of actors was truly limited. In the end, of course, it was for the best. The part that would have been all confidence and sincerity with Stephen at the helm was for Bloom sheer desperation.   


* * *

"The mountain goddess is angry," Bloom cried, throwing down his dubious, though apparently meticulous with a touch of insanity for colour, notes down on the tables of the developers. "This story has been passed from shaman to shaman in the Trictomori tribe for centuries. Pueleaakemennamana will descend on the mountain and destroy the island in a lake of fire before she allows the land to be sold to those who do not believe."

"Dr. Barenbuch," Penelope interrupted, her tone stiff and formal. Her sizeable fortune allowed her to pose as an investor and she'd adopted a sour expression that went with her incredibly tailored and expensive suit. "Surely you don't intend us to call all development because of a little bit of superstition on behalf of the natives. The money these people will get from our fair price for their real estate will be enough for them to start new lives."

"They don't want new lives," Bloom argued, with the perpetual desperation of a scientist who's seen just enough progress to fear it for progress' sake. He stumbled forward, as if touching her would somehow prove his point.

It did startle her enough for her to spill her tea, all over her lap. As several others moved to help her with napkins and handkerchiefs, the rumbling began in the distance.

Bloom picked up his notes again, pointing the surety of a man who knew the world was ending. "This is vengeance! Righteous fire driving the invaders from the mountain. Pueleaakemennamana will choose a vessel and you'll see--"

Penelope jumped the gun. It was all right, in the long run. Perhaps it was nerves, or simply a desire to get on with it, or the fuse beneath her skirt simply getting to warm; the mixture of alcohol burst into flames. As the terrified financiers backed away, a well timed explosion in the jungle just in the rear of the hut threw part of the thatched roof into the air.

As everyone began to scatter, Penelope calmly got to her feet, the trick threads of her suit burning through so tighter dress beneath was all that was left. With the sun setting behind the mountain, the hut that had been the headquarters of the building corporation burned to the ground and the goddess with the nearly unpronounceable name was reborn. Pueleaakemennamana danced as the ruins of the modern incursion burned to the ground.

That's how in the end, holding Penelope's hand, feeling the ash of Bang Bang's explosive rendition of a volcano, Bloom began to realise that the powers of the con man, might not have left him at all. He was in the middle of deciding whether or not this was a good thing when Bang Bang kissed him on the cheek, pressed something into his hand, and as was her way, was gone by the time he looked back up.

Penelope peeled his fingers open, smudging his hand with ash. In his palm sat a small, smiling cat with one paw raised.

"You already had this," Penelope murmured, closing his fingers back around it.

Bloom tilted his head, waiting for the explanation.

"Right paw, luck and wealth," she said, getting to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Usually money, but, this one happens to say love."

Not speaking Japanese meant he had to believe her. Oddly enough, he always had.


End file.
